My Frugal Miser - January Expenses: $12,996

January was another fairly expensive month.

I have switched from Quicken to a customized spreadsheet to manage my finances.  As part of that transition I have consolidated some categories.  I am also now reporting business expenses.  Previously I did not include rental property expenses. It's all designed to simplify managing my money.

• We spent a week in Birmingham working on the empty townhouse.  I had to replace the cabinets and countertops, which was a $6,000 expense.
• Food spending was high. We ate out every day while we were in Birmingham.  We eat restaurant food way too much.
• I switched from an ACA health plan to one called Liberty Healthshare.  The monthly premiums are higher but overall it should lower my health expense.

January Expenses:  $12,996

$209 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$0 Bank Fees
$47 Clothing/ Personal Care

$15 Fun (vacations movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets) 

$583 Food

$0 Gifts Given

$1,331 Household/Mortgage Payment/Home Repair

$0 Investment Expense
$77 Interest Expense*

$0 Miscellaneous

$0 Taxes (Quarterly Tax Payment)
$0 App Jobs Expenses (tolls, car washes, etc.)
$101 Unreimbursed Employee Expenses

$110 Utilities
$8,343 Rental Property Expenses

*Interest expense includes student loans.  As the rate is below 2%, I am completely comfortable paying the interest each month and investing the money that I would otherwise use to pay off this loan.  

My Frugal Miser - January Income: $14,389

My income in January was good.

• Meeting season has begun.  More of my work was working meetings, but I still managed to deliver some for Amazon.  
• One rental property is vacant; everything else is occupied with rent paid.  I m now including homes owned through my retirement accounts.
• AirBnB was solid once again.
• My investment account was way down.  My Sears put options lost a significant amount.  I had to close them out but still made a tiny profit.

January Income: $14,389

($21) Mystery Shopping
$1,425 Meeting Jobs
$27 Gig Apps (Uber, Lyft, Postmates, Doordash)
$868 Amazon Deliveries
$9,716 Rental Income
$2,150 AirBnB Income
$28 Interest Income

$197 Other Sources

Investment Accounts Change in Value (Excludes IRAs):  -$10,025

AirBnB December Performance

AirBnB - December 2018

In our fourth month operating an AirBnB home we were cash-flow positive (that's two months in a row!)  Nightly rates are improving.  I was successful at filling a few vacant days by tinkering with rates.  Often if we are in-town and have a vacancy, I will lower rates as the vacant day approaches to try to get the house booked.  For example, I had a 3 day gap in mid-December.  Rates started at $79, which I gradually lowered until I picked up a booking at $49/night for two of those nights.  With the cleaning fee, that booking earned us $165 that we otherwise would have missed out on.

Financial Performance

Occupancy Rate:  90% (3 days unbooked)

Payments Received:  $2,886

Expenses:  $399

Net Income:  $2,487

My Frugal Miser - December Expenses: $7,294

December was another fairly expensive month.  Fortunately, I'm mostly finished furnishing our new house.  That was a major expense for 2018.

• I had new brakes installed on my car; I also spent a lot on gas with all the Amazon deliveries I made.  Good thing gas prices are super low.
• Food spending was high.  We had family visit for Christmas so this category includes spending for several additional people.
• I had to replace a broken crown - over $800 after insurance.  Dental care can be expensive!

December Expenses:  $7,294

$434 Auto (service, gas, insurance, AAA, etc.)

$86 Bank Fees
$0 Charity
$0 Clothing

$0 Computer

$530 Entertainment (movies, gambling, alcohol, concert tickets) 

$769 Food

$319 Gifts Given

$1,843 Household/Mortgage Payment/Home Repair

$153 Health and Dental Insurance

$0 Investment Expense
$11 Interest Expense*

$808 Medical/Dental

$0 Miscellaneous

$9 Personal Care

$0 Subscriptions

$1,819 Taxes (Quarterly Tax Payment)
$31 App Jobs Expenses (tolls, car washes, etc.)
$0 Unreimbursed Employee Expenses

$390 Utilities

$94 Vacation

*Interest expense includes student loans.  As the rate is below 2%, I am completely comfortable paying the interest each month and investing the money that I would otherwise use to pay off this loan.